Our Firm

Kiely Thompson Caisley is a boutique employment law firm. Established in 1997 as a national firm with offices in the central business districts in Auckland and Wellington. The firm has four partners, between the two offices.

We are accustomed to providing advice to many of New Zealand’s largest corporates as well as many significant public sector organisations. We pride ourselves on providing prompt, sound, practical advice that takes account of legislative responsibilities and media sensitivities.

We are committed to exceeding our clients’ expectations. We recognise the importance to our clients of accessibility, accountability and action.

Because Kiely Thompson Caisley is a boutique employment law firm it only practices in its specialist areas, which allows us to provide current and relevant advice to all our clients with their specific employment issues and concerns.

Expertise

Labour & employment law

We are widely recognised as having one of the leading employment law teams in New Zealand. The strength of the firm lies in our depth of specialist expertise. All of our team members are highly respected practitioners in employment law.The team has been consistently and independently acknowledged as being one of the best employment law teams in the country by Asia Pacific Legal 500.

Of course, where alternate forms of dispute resolution fail; we have the skills and experience to resolve the matter through litigation, to the highest standard and to the highest level. We regularly appear as counsel in leading employment law cases.

Health and safety

Employment law and industrial relations are inextricably linked to health and safety. It is therefore one of our core areas of practice. We have considerable expertise in drafting health and safety policies, dealing with the complex issues involved in drug and alcohol testing and defending prosecutions brought by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Clients can be assured of the depth of knowledge we have in this field. Our team members have appeared as counsel in a wide-range of health and safety cases, including leading workplace stress, constructive dismissal and drug and alcohol testing cases.

Immigration

We regularly advise employers, highly skilled individuals, investors and visitors on a range of immigration applications and associated issues. With offices in Auckland and Wellington, we are committed to providing sound, practical immigration advice and assistance with a commercial focus.

We regularly assist our employer clients who seek visas for key employees (including temporary work and residence visas). We also regularly liaise with Immigration New Zealand on our client's behalf. In addition, we provide advice on policy requirements, strategy (such as the best immigration route to apply for) and applications for employer accreditation status with Immigration New Zealand.

We are also able to assist skilled migrants, investors and entrepreneurs who require residence, investment, visitor or student visas for themselves and members of their family.

Our People

Peter Kiely

Senior Partner

Peter is Kiely Thompson Caisley’s Senior Partner and one of the founding partners. He first practised employment and industrial law in 1980 and has been a specialist in this area since. Accordingly extensive experience in a full range ofindustrial relations matters including strikes and pickets. Peter has appeared in numerous precedent setting Employment Court and Court of Appeal cases. He is admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Victoria and Federal Court of Australia and is advisor to many of our firm’s international clients with subsidiaries in New Zealand. In 1999 Peter was appointed Adjunct Professor of Employment Law at Victoria University of Wellington and is currently Pro-Chancellor of the University of Auckland. Peter is also a member of the Industrial Relations Centre Advisory Board, which is part of the Victoria University of Wellington Management School.

Andrew Caisley

Senior Partner

Andrew Caisley is a founding partner of Kiely Thompson Caisley and is a highly regarded employment law specialist. Included in his more than 30 years of experience are regular appearances in all industrial and employment forums from the Mediation Service to the Court of Appeal.

With experience under the Labour Relations Act 1987, the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and the Employment Relations Act 2000, his practice extends across all facets of employment.

Andrew has worked extensively for employers in unionised sectors. In particular he has worked widely in the waterfront and shipping, aviation and transport, pulp and paper, publishing, and manufacturing industries. He has experience in drafting both strike and lockout notices and regularly advises employer clients on industrial action, including pickets, arising from either bargaining or from major restructuring.

News & Events

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20 Feb 2019

In the news: The publication Quotidiano del Lavoro features Ius laboris Italy Toffoletto De Luca Tamajo e Soci about the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court

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Ius Laboris

Ius Laboris, a global Alliance of leading employment, labour and pension law firms that provides companies employing an international workforce with first-class legal advice and support on all human resources issues.

We are passionate about all aspects of human resources law. From Mobility to Discrimination, and from Restructuring to Pensions, our local experts around the world provide deep market knowledge, wherever they are based.

We understand the challenges of managing an international workforce because that is our single focus. With over 1,400 employment lawyers across more than160 cities worldwide, we always bring a genuinely cross-border perspective.

Ius Laboris firms have a distinctive global way of thinking, and with our trained team of project managers on hand to coordinate our offering around the world, we deliver a seamless integrated service to suit your requirements, wherever you need us.

Ours is a passionate, entrepreneurial and collaborative global community. Our culture of friendship and specialisation enables us to navigate all aspects of employing a workforce across borders with ease.

Finally, and most importantly, we are all committed to excellence. With more ranked HR lawyers than our nearest rival (source Chambers Global Guide), in more jurisdictions (source Legal 500), Ius Laboris brings together more leading law firms than any other HR legal services organisation. That’s something we’re extremely proud of.